Improved gold-beating apparatus



T. 0.. ROBBINS.

Gold Beater.

No. 57,38 I

0 Patented-Aug. 21, 1866..

W'itnesses: Invento r:

N PETERS. Photo-ulhu mplwn wahin ion. u. c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS C. ROBBINS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA., ASSIGNOR, THROUGH MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO R. EDGAR HASTINGS, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVED GOLD-BEATING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 57,380, dated August 21, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, T. O. ROBBINS, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Gold-Beatin g Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to the gold-beating machine for which Letters Patent of the United States were issued to Matthew Hastings on the 27th day of June, 1865 and my invention consists of a vertically-guided hammer, in com bination with a reciprocating cross-head, when the said hammer is operated by, but has a limited vertical movement independent of, the cross-head, as fully described hereinafter, so that the speed of the hammer may be increased to any desired extent without detracting from the uniform force of the blows.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, the figure represents a front elevation of my improved gold-beating machine.

A is the base, and B the frame, of the machine, and in suitable bearings at the upper end of the frame turns a shaft, O. In the center of the shaft 0 is a band-pulley, D, and at each end of the shaft is a crank-wheel, E, to which is jointed the upper end of a connectingrod, F, the lower ends of these rods being connected to a cross-head, G, which slides on vertical guides at a, secured to the frame of the machine. In the center of the cross-head is an oblong opening, 00, through which, and through the sides 3 y of the cross-head, above and below the opening, passes a shaft, H, a collar, 0, on the shaft limiting the vertical movement of the latter in the cross-head. On the lower end of the shaft H is a hammer-head, d, below which, on the base-plate A, is secured an anvil, c.

The shaft H is of such a length, and the collar 0 is so situated, that when the cross-head is at the limit of its downward motion, and the hammer d rests on the anvil, the collar 0 will be a short distance above the lower side, 3 of the crosshead.

As the manner in which the gold or other metal is beaten into sheets by the action of a vertically-guided hammer is fully described in the patent granted to M. Hastings on the 27th day of J une, 1865, it will be unnecessary here to allude particularly to this operation.

In machines in which the descent of the hammer is caused only by the weight of the same, the rate at which it falls is such that it is impossible to obtain more than about eighty blows in a minute, and although this speed is sufficient at the beginning of the operation, it is desirable that it should be greatly increased as the operation approaches completion.

In the above-described machine, when a reciprocating motion is imparted to the crosshead, the shaft H and its hammer will be raised as the lower side, y, of the cross-head is brought against the collar 0, and will fall with the cross-head, provided thp latter is not caused to rise and fall more than about eighty times in a minute. When, however, the movement of the cross-head is accelerated by imparting a more rapid rotary motion to the driving-shaft, the side y of the cross-head, as the latter descends, will strike the collar 0, so that after the cross-head has reached the limit of its downward motion the shaft will be propelled toward the mold at a much greater speed, and the hammer will strike a much heavier blow than if it fell merely by its own weight. As the hammer rebounds from the mold the cross-head rises, and before the hammer can fall and again strike the mold the side 3 of the cross-head is brought in contact with the collar 0. The shaft is then carried upward, and afterward, on the descent of the crosshead, driven downward, as before.

It will be seen that the hammer may thus be driven at any desired speed, the rapidity of its motion being limited only by that of the cross-head; that the force of the blows may be regulated at pleasure, both by regulating the speed and by the use of different-sized hammers, and that every blow struck by a hammer will, when the speed is not varied, be of precisely the same force as that which preceded it.

It will be apparent that a pin projecting from the cross-head into a slot in the shaft H, or a pin on the shaft projecting into a slot in a cross-head or in a vibrating lever, may be substituted for the collar 0 and cross-head with its opening a", Without departing from the main features of my invention. Without confining myself, therefore, to the precise construction and arrangement of parts herein described,

I claim as my invention, and. desire to secure by Letters Patent as an improvement on the aforesaid patent of Matthew Hastings The vertically-guidedhammer d, in combination with the reciprocating cross-head G or its equivalent, the whole being constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

' THOS. O. ROBBINS.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. FOSTER, JOHN WHITE. 

